we are just hours away from falling off the so-called fiscal cliff. tax hikes for nearly every american. lots of different ones. spending cuts of totaling more than a trillion dollars. by all indications, nothing, we mean nothing has changed on capitol hill. senate majority leader harry reid saying significant distance remains between the two sides. good morning everyone, i'm gregg jarrett in for bill hemmer here in "america's newsroom.". >> i'm heather childers in for martha maccallum the senate gavels in at 11:00 a.m. we'll see if there was some miracle overnight. gregg: i doubt that. yesterday, republican senate leader mitch mcconnell made an emergency call to the vice president joe biden in an evident to jump-start negotiations. heather: if no deal is haed out today, majority leader reid says he will call a vote on a separate white house plan that reflects's original proposal. gregg: chief correspondent mike emanuel kicks off the coverage. mike, where do the things stand in the fiscal cliff talks at this critical late-stage? >> reporter: gregg, th